Iowans Head to Caucuses amid Tight Races
Audience members listen to Republican presidential hopeful and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Wednesday.
Audience members listen to Republican presidential hopeful and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Wednesday.
A man listens as Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks at a campaign stop on Wednesday.
A man listens as Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks at a campaign stop on Wednesday.
Presidential hopefuls urged their supporters to turn out and rally fellow Iowans to the caucuses Thursday amid bracing temperatures in the first contests of the 2008 election season.
Iowans, courted for months by candidates, could bring some clarity to the national contest, which heads to New Hampshire in just five days.
Surveys suggested a quarter of likely caucus-goers were still undecided in the final days. Mason City resident Mike Forbes was one of them. Forbes likes former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who was on a barnstorming tour of Iowa on Wednesday, but also checked out Mike Huckabee when the former Arkansas governor spoke in town.
"Actually I could support both those guys real easy," Forbes said.
Candidates in both parties have been crisscrossing the state. That's why a place like Mason City — with just 27,000 resident—-- drew visits Wednesday from not only Romney and Huckabee, but also GOP contender Fred Thompson.
Romney goes into the caucuses fighting for a win against Huckabee, a man who stood at just 2 percent in the polls in Iowa less than six months ago.
Polls indicate a tight three-way race for Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, reflected in swollen crowds at Democratic venues and expectations of a hectic caucus night.
With the caucuses not beginning until the evening, most candidates filled their Thursday calendar with still more speeches and events.
Obama, an Illinois senator, recommended long johns as he sent people door to door. Clinton served bagels, fruit and coffee to Des Moines volunteers and said of the single-digit temperatures, "I know if you're here from Iowa to help me, this is like, nothing."
Huckabee has drawn support from evangelicals and home-schooling activists, as well as some independent voters such as Florence Cline, who works in a natural food store.
"Actually I was expecting that I would be more attracted to some Democrats," she said. "So it's very unusual that I'm here. I'm intrigued that he's in a rock band, plays bass. He's just a fascinating human being."
Campaigns were ready with snow shovels if needed, and used the phone and Facebook.com to encourage voters. Romney said his campaign made 12,000 calls on Sunday alone.
Clinton and Huckabee appeared on late-night talk shows, a chance to start looking beyond Iowa and endear themselves with a national audience just as the campaign starts to move across the country.
Clinton, feet firmly planted in Iowa, spoke by tape with David Letterman, whose New York-based show settled with striking writers. Huckabee flew to Burbank, Calif., to sit with Jay Leno in the final crucial hours of the Iowa campaign and was unaware when he made the commitment that he'd have to cross a picket line. The former Arkansas governor said he supported the strikers; they called him a scab.
Obama, an at-times stirring orator and the most viable black presidential candidate in history, drew large crowds, yet acknowledged that won't put him over the top unless he can motivate his supporters to come to the caucus meetings.
While Romney and Huckabee battled for the top spot in Iowa, John McCain was also hoping for a strong showing. The Arizona senator had largely ignored Iowa throughout the fall and early winter. But last night he had to push his way through an overflow crowd of supporters at his campaign headquarters outside Des Moines.
"I'm very grateful for you being here. I'm grateful for this expression of support," he said.
"I can tell you we've come a long way since I met the 1,203-pound pig named Big Red at the Iowa State Fair and then enjoyed a pork chop on a stick, followed by a delicious deep fried Twinkie," he said.
Back during fair season over the summer, McCain was all but written off. But he has shown new life in recent polls.
A strong third-place finish in Iowa could give McCain's campaign added momentum when the focus shifts to New Hampshire.
Altogether, 120,000 to 150,000 people were expected to come to the Democratic caucuses and 80,000 to 90,000 to the GOP meetings. Caucuses are held in each of the state's nearly 1,800 precincts and draw anywhere from a few people each in rural areas to hundreds in suburbia.
From NPR's Scott Horsley and The Associated Press
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